She hesitates, and I can practically see the gears turning in her head. Whatever their relationship, whatever brought them here, she loves this alpha enough to kill for him. Maybe die for him too.
"We won't harm either of you as long as you're in our custody," I tell her, and mean it more than I should. "You have my word."
Something in my tone must convince her because she nods once, sharp and reluctant, and moves back enough to let Elias work.
Elias drops beside Felix, rolling him onto his back with practiced efficiency. His hands move over the wounds, tearing fabric and cataloging damage with the kind of clinical detachment that comes from years of battlefield medicine.
"Thigh wound might have hit the femoral artery," he mutters, pulling a tourniquet from his kit. "And this arm..." He shakes his head. "We need to get him out of here. He needs a transfusion as soon as possible."
"He's an alpha," Jackal remarks in a tone as dry and bone and devoid of emotion or sympathy as he is. "Two bullets shouldn't be enough to take him out."
A range of emotions flicker across the omega's face, anxiety replaced quickly by rage, and she curls her lip back in a fierce snarl that makes Jackal cock an eyebrow.
"I'll ready the bird," Archer says, disappearing through the door.
"Bird?" The omega looks up at me, confusion cutting through the fear in her voice.
"The plane," I explain, keeping my tone gentle. Something about her distress is clawing at my insides, and I need to keep her calm. "What's your name?"
She hesitates, as if she's not willing to part with even that. "Juniper."
"Well, Juniper, you pack a mean right hook." I can't help the grin that tugs at my mouth. "It's nice to meet you."
"I tried to kill you," she points out dryly.
"All the same." I gesture to the others. "That's Doctor working on your friend there. The one who left is Viper—he's getting our ride ready. And the pretty boy in the corner is Jackal."
Her gaze flicks to Elias. "He's a doctor and his code name isDoctor?"
Jackal barks a laugh true to his namesake. "She has a point there, Bane."
I even catch Elias' mouth twitching at one corner as he keeps his focus on his patient.
"I never claimed to be creative," I grumble.
Juniper eyes me warily. "Why are you helping me?"
"That's what we do," I tell her simply. "We help people."
She looks at Carlisle again, and something flickers in her expression. Doubt. "Even him?"
Smart girl. Most people can't sense what Carlisle really is underneath all that charm and good breeding. But she's looking at him like she can see the monster wearing a human face.
He catches her stare and grins, all teeth and predatory amusement. "The little omega is perceptive."
Felix groans, the sound weak and thready, and Juniper immediately grabs his hand. The naked terror on her face when she looks at him makes something twist in my soul. Whatever's between them, it runs deep.
My comm crackles. "Chopper's on the roof," Archer's voice comes through clear. "Ready for extraction."
"Copy that." I look at Felix's pale face, the way his breathing has gone shallow. "We're coming up."
I bend down and scoop Felix up, surprised by how light he feels. For an alpha, he's built lean rather than bulky, all whipcord muscle and sharp edges. But there's something else that bothers me—his scent. Even through the blood and adrenaline, there'san artificial quality to his alpha pheromones. Like cologne trying to mask something else.
"Should we restrain her?" Elias asks quietly, nodding toward Juniper.
I shake my head. "As long as we have him, she'll stay in line."
I don't know exactly what their connection is, whether they're brother and sister or something a lot less familial, but it's clear they're irrevocably attached. Which makes things complicated in ways I'm not ready to think about.
